CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The flag waving and sign raising seen across the country in recent weeks in protest against Wall Street played out in Cleveland on Thursday.

And those involved in the "Occupy Cleveland" demonstration vow to continue their rally against what they say is corporate greed in the United States and the growing gap between big corporations and average citizens.

Some of the protesters said Friday morning that they spent the night outdoors downtown. Police said they cleared the protest site after 9 p.m. Thursday. The group returned to Public Square shortly after 7 a.m. Friday.

"People are feeling fed up and hopeless," Shelly Gracon-Nagy, a local activist and community organizer, said Thursday night...."People are adamant that this is going to be an ongoing event."

Earlier in the day, dozens of students, professional workers and the unemployed gathered at the Free Stamp on Lakeside Avenue, some chanting while others communicated their message over a shared bullhorn or on makeshift signs.

"If I had a job, I wouldn't be here," one sign read. "Greed kills," "Together we rise," and "I got 99 problems, but the rich got none" read some others.

Occupy Wall Street Protest Comes to ClevelandOccupy Wall Street protesters gather at the Free Stamp in Willard Park in downtown Cleveland on Thursday. The anti-Wall Street demonstrations have spread across the country and are protesting against social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government.

By all accounts the demonstration, punctuated by drums and tambourines playing, was a peaceful one, with a crowd that organizers estimated at about 200.

Many of the protesters and supporters seemed oblivious to national criticism that they -- and protesters like them in nearly 150 U.S. cities -- are a growing but loosely organized movement without a mission.

Jacob Wagner, a 25-year-old law student at Case Western Reserve University, said he decided to get involved after hearing about the protest online. He and others chanted and marched down Lakeside Avenue.

"Even if we can't camp out, we're going to keep coming back," Wagner said. "We have a right to free speech and we're going to speak out."

Plans are to continue the protest Friday on Public Square and maybe through the weekend.

Like in many other cities, Cleveland protesters received plenty of support Thursday from labor unions members.

Mail carrier Michele Smith shed tears while holding up her large handmade sign that read "Enough is Enough."

"It tears me up to see so many people losing their jobs and homes, and I'm sick of it," said Smith, who added that she is a member of the National Association of Letter Carrier's Union.

Like her Facebook friend in Dallas, who attended a similar protest there on Thursday, Smith said she just want to make her voice heard.

"I feel very strongly about this," she said.

Albert Mixon, vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamstears, was also at the event.

"We're here to support the injustices going on with the middle class," Mixon said. "Hopefully we can raise some awareness on all of the miscommunications with what's really going on in this country.. We need jobs, living wages and everybody paying taxes."

Protesters also got support from Councilman Zack Reed, who said he thought the crowd should have been larger and expects it will be once the word gets out.

"I'm here to show support to individuals demanding justice," Reed said. "We're not getting jobs or justice."

Stand-up comedian and Los Angeles resident Greg Proops, in town for a show at Hilarities Comedy Club, attended the demonstration, saying he's been following the protests spreading throughout the nation and he understands the frustration of middle-class Americans.

Proops said he's tired of the hypocrisy in corporations, corporate bailouts and chief executives who send jobs overseas.

"I think it's high time there's a class warfare," he said. "The upper class have been waging a very successful one for the last 25 years."

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